Army secretary says Fort Bragg's barracks condition unacceptable

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- The secretary of the Army said today the poor condition of Korean War-era barracks at Fort Bragg is unacceptable.

Army Secretary Pete Geren said improvements are coming, but some of the problems can't be fixed quickly. He made the remarks after meeting with soldiers and touring Fort Bragg's 82nd Airborne Division barracks.

The visit came after the father of a paratrooper posted a video online showing mold inside the barracks, peeling interior paint and a bathroom drain plugged with sewage.

By today, the barracks had new paint and water fountains were fixed, but work crews still labored on the plumbing.

"Everybody on this installation knows that the conditions were unacceptable. Every soldier deserves a quality of life equal to his service," Geren said.

Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., urged the Defense Department today to look into the Bragg conditions. It was one of Feingold's constituents, Ed Frawley of Menomonie, Wis., who posted the video.

Frawley said he was disgusted by conditions that greeted his son, Sgt. Jeff Frawley, and other members of his company when they returned this month after a 15-month tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Army officials have said they have inspected every barracks building worldwide to see whether plumbing and other problems revealed at Fort Bragg are widespread. The inspection was launched after the video was posted.

The barracks like the one in the video were built in the 1950s and will still be needed while Fort Bragg constructs new ones, Geren said.

"We have old barracks with needs, but it is nothing that can be fixed overnight," he said. "We're going to make sure all the installations have the requirements they need."